1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to window latches, and more particularly, to a latch with a slide bolt slidingly mounted on a sliding vent in a window frame to register with an aperture in the window frame.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Windows with horizontally sliding vents latched by a vertical slide bolt engaging an aperture in the window frame are commonly used, but in the past they have often not been adequately burglar-proof because of the relative ease with which they can be opened from the outside by force or by jiggling the vent and thereby vibrating open the bolt. Past efforts to positively lock the slide bolt in extended position, as by a set screw or by a pin urged by a compression spring into a detent in the bolt, although resulting in some instances in a more burglar-proof assembly, have the disadvantage that they require a respective specific unlatching motion unrelated to sliding of the bolt before the bolt is free to be axially pushed open. This requirement of such prior art devices is not only inconvenient, but in emergency situations, such as a fire, where the occupant may panic, can be deadly since their complexity may make rapid exit through the window impossible, particularly if the occupant is a child or a stranger to the latch mechanism.